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| Israel, UAE and Bahrain sign deals to normalize diplomatic relations – as it happened | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the foreign ministers of the UAE and Bahrain each signed copies of the agreements, as did Trump | Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the foreign ministers of the UAE and Bahrain each signed copies of the agreements, as did Trump |
| We’re ending live coverage for the day, thanks for following along. Some links and developments you may have missed: | |
| Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have signed agreements to establish formal relations, ending a decades-old taboo in Arab diplomacy as power and priorities shift in the Middle East. | |
| The US Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into whether former national security adviser John Bolton mishandled classified information when he published a book about his time in Trump’s White House. | |
| Trump warned that the US will retaliate with “1,000 times greater” force against any Iranian attack on its interests. | |
| The city of Louisville, Kentucky, has reached a $12m settlement with the family of Breonna Taylor in a civil suit stemming from the fatal shooting by police of the 26-year-old inside her apartment in March. | |
| Firefighters have been pushed to the limits as unprecedented infernos rage across US west coast. | |
| Guards at an Oregon state prison are under fire for repeatedly deploying pepper spray in a facility where evacuated prisoners were already suffering amid historic wildfires and the worst air quality in the world. | |
| The US government has deported a key witness in an ongoing investigation into sexual assault and harassment at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention center. | |
| Kamala Harris toured the fire damage in California and spoke about the urgency of the climate crisis. | |
| Trump claimed a coronavirus vaccine would be available “within weeks”, contradicting experts. | |
| Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer is calling on Alex Azar, the secretary of health and human services, to resign “immediately” over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. | |
| In a clip from the town hall set to air this evening, the president falsely told a voter he did not downplay the coronavirus pandemic, saying, “Actually, in many I ways, I up-played it, in terms of action.” | In a clip from the town hall set to air this evening, the president falsely told a voter he did not downplay the coronavirus pandemic, saying, “Actually, in many I ways, I up-played it, in terms of action.” |
| Fact check: The president repeatedly downplayed the seriousness of the virus, for months, and as it was recently revealed this week, he explicitly admitted this to journalist Bob Woodward. | |
| On 27 February, Trump said publicly: “It’s going to disappear. One day – it’s like a miracle – it will disappear.” In a tweet on 9 March, he explicitly compared Covid to the common flu, noting that “nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on” in flu season. “Think about that!” By 19 March, Trump declared a national emergency. But at the same time, he told Woodward, “I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.” | |
| In tonight’s segment Trump also responded to the voter’s question by repeating misleading claims about his early travel restrictions during Covid, falsely calling them “bans” on China and Europe. | In tonight’s segment Trump also responded to the voter’s question by repeating misleading claims about his early travel restrictions during Covid, falsely calling them “bans” on China and Europe. |
| Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and White House adviser, refused to answer questions about Trump promoting falsehoods and a baseless conspiracy theory accusing Joe Biden of being a pedophile. Kushner responded that he hadn’t seen the tweet. | Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and White House adviser, refused to answer questions about Trump promoting falsehoods and a baseless conspiracy theory accusing Joe Biden of being a pedophile. Kushner responded that he hadn’t seen the tweet. |
| CNN’s Wolf Blitzer responded, “Please tell your father-in-law it’s really disgusting to retweet those kind of ugly disgusting tweets about his Democratic rival ... I was pretty upset when I saw that.” | CNN’s Wolf Blitzer responded, “Please tell your father-in-law it’s really disgusting to retweet those kind of ugly disgusting tweets about his Democratic rival ... I was pretty upset when I saw that.” |
| Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, has sent a letter urging the Trump and Biden campaigns to abide by the state’s guidelines for slowing the spread of the coronavirus when the candidates visit the state on Friday, the AP reports. | Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, has sent a letter urging the Trump and Biden campaigns to abide by the state’s guidelines for slowing the spread of the coronavirus when the candidates visit the state on Friday, the AP reports. |
| The Trump campaign has openly defied state emergency orders and flouting his own administration’s guidelines in battleground state rallies. Trump has an airport rally scheduled for Friday in the north-central Minnesota city of Bemidji. Biden’s campaign hasn’t announced its plans yet. | The Trump campaign has openly defied state emergency orders and flouting his own administration’s guidelines in battleground state rallies. Trump has an airport rally scheduled for Friday in the north-central Minnesota city of Bemidji. Biden’s campaign hasn’t announced its plans yet. |
| The governor said masks are required inside and strongly encouraged outside, adding: | The governor said masks are required inside and strongly encouraged outside, adding: |
| The Trump campaign has continued to push unsubstantiated claims accusing Joe Biden of taking performance enhancing drugs, this time with a highly misleading tweet. | The Trump campaign has continued to push unsubstantiated claims accusing Joe Biden of taking performance enhancing drugs, this time with a highly misleading tweet. |
| After Trump, without any evidence, accused Biden of taking drugs in a Fox News interview on Sunday, the campaign has continued to spread similar misinformation. | After Trump, without any evidence, accused Biden of taking drugs in a Fox News interview on Sunday, the campaign has continued to spread similar misinformation. |
| In a recent interview, a reporter said to Biden, “President Trump is accusing you of being ‘mentally shot’, his words, even suggesting you’re taking something. How do you respond to this pre-debate accusation, and are you looking forward to the debate?” | In a recent interview, a reporter said to Biden, “President Trump is accusing you of being ‘mentally shot’, his words, even suggesting you’re taking something. How do you respond to this pre-debate accusation, and are you looking forward to the debate?” |
| The former vice president responded, “I’m looking forward to the debate, and he’s a fool. The comments are just foolish. Get ready, Mr President, here I come.” | The former vice president responded, “I’m looking forward to the debate, and he’s a fool. The comments are just foolish. Get ready, Mr President, here I come.” |
| The campaign has spun this exchange to misleadingly suggest that Biden did not deny that he is taking performance enhancing drugs: | The campaign has spun this exchange to misleadingly suggest that Biden did not deny that he is taking performance enhancing drugs: |
| The Washington Post has found that teenagers, including minors, are being paid to publish pro-Trump social media posts at the direction of Turning Point Action, an affiliate of Turning Point USA, a prominent conservative youth organization. | The Washington Post has found that teenagers, including minors, are being paid to publish pro-Trump social media posts at the direction of Turning Point Action, an affiliate of Turning Point USA, a prominent conservative youth organization. |
| “The campaign draws on the spam-like behavior of bots and trolls, with the same or similar language posted repeatedly across social media. But it is carried out, at least in part, by humans paid to use their own accounts, though nowhere disclosing their relationship with Turning Point Action or the digital firm brought in to oversee the day-to-day activity,” the Post reported. | “The campaign draws on the spam-like behavior of bots and trolls, with the same or similar language posted repeatedly across social media. But it is carried out, at least in part, by humans paid to use their own accounts, though nowhere disclosing their relationship with Turning Point Action or the digital firm brought in to oversee the day-to-day activity,” the Post reported. |
| The posts are part of a large and secretive social media campaign that sought to evade the moderation rules of Facebook and Twitter. The Post found nearly 4,500 tweets containing identical content this summer, which likely is a fraction of the overall output. | The posts are part of a large and secretive social media campaign that sought to evade the moderation rules of Facebook and Twitter. The Post found nearly 4,500 tweets containing identical content this summer, which likely is a fraction of the overall output. |
| Once the Post inquired about the suspicious activity, Twitter suspended at least 20 accounts today for “platform manipulation and spam” and Facebook removed accounts as part of an ongoing investigation. | Once the Post inquired about the suspicious activity, Twitter suspended at least 20 accounts today for “platform manipulation and spam” and Facebook removed accounts as part of an ongoing investigation. |
| Speaking to reporters in Florida just now, Joe Biden said his pitch to Latino voters is that Trump needs to “get off the damn golf course and sit down in the Oval Office” to hammer out a Covid relief bill: | Speaking to reporters in Florida just now, Joe Biden said his pitch to Latino voters is that Trump needs to “get off the damn golf course and sit down in the Oval Office” to hammer out a Covid relief bill: |
| Earlier today, the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, said a $1.5 trillion coronavirus relief proposal from a bipartisan group of moderate lawmakers does not align with administration priorities but could provide a “real opening for further discussions”, Reuters reported. | Earlier today, the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, said a $1.5 trillion coronavirus relief proposal from a bipartisan group of moderate lawmakers does not align with administration priorities but could provide a “real opening for further discussions”, Reuters reported. |
| “It’s a very thoughtful proposal. It certainly doesn’t align with a view of the priorities that the president has,” Meadows told the news agency. | “It’s a very thoughtful proposal. It certainly doesn’t align with a view of the priorities that the president has,” Meadows told the news agency. |
| A very 2020 headline in Oregon today from Willamette Week, explaining how to get your ballot and vote if wildfires destroyed your mailbox: | A very 2020 headline in Oregon today from Willamette Week, explaining how to get your ballot and vote if wildfires destroyed your mailbox: |
| Kim Kardashian West has criticised Instagram and Facebook for allowing the “spreading of hate” and said she would temporarily freeze her social media accounts on the platforms. | Kim Kardashian West has criticised Instagram and Facebook for allowing the “spreading of hate” and said she would temporarily freeze her social media accounts on the platforms. |
| She added that inaccurate social media posts have “a serious impact on our elections and undermines our democracy”, and urged others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. | She added that inaccurate social media posts have “a serious impact on our elections and undermines our democracy”, and urged others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. |
| Facebook recently faced significant scrutiny for its failure to remove the “call to arms” of a Kenosha, Wisconsin, militia before a shooting that left two people dead and another injured at protests. | Facebook recently faced significant scrutiny for its failure to remove the “call to arms” of a Kenosha, Wisconsin, militia before a shooting that left two people dead and another injured at protests. |
| South Dakota’s governor, Kristi Noem, said that she was bringing in outside investigators to look into how the state’s top prosecutor struck and killed a man with his car, the AP reports. | South Dakota’s governor, Kristi Noem, said that she was bringing in outside investigators to look into how the state’s top prosecutor struck and killed a man with his car, the AP reports. |
| The attorney general, Jason Ravnsborg, struck a man walking near a rural highway on Saturday night. He has said he initially believed he hit a deer and realized that he hit a person only after he returned to the site the next day. | The attorney general, Jason Ravnsborg, struck a man walking near a rural highway on Saturday night. He has said he initially believed he hit a deer and realized that he hit a person only after he returned to the site the next day. |
| The state highway patrol is overseeing the investigation, but Noem’s administration has called in the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation and a crash reconstruction expert from Wyoming. | The state highway patrol is overseeing the investigation, but Noem’s administration has called in the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation and a crash reconstruction expert from Wyoming. |
| Ravnsborg has promoted a tough-on-crime policies and pushed for the repeal of a program meant to give probation instead of prison time to certain lower-level offenses, according to the AP. Since 2014, he also accumulated eight traffic tickets, including six speeding tickets in different counties. | Ravnsborg has promoted a tough-on-crime policies and pushed for the repeal of a program meant to give probation instead of prison time to certain lower-level offenses, according to the AP. Since 2014, he also accumulated eight traffic tickets, including six speeding tickets in different counties. |
| Here’s video of Trump’s comments after today’s agreement signed between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain at the White House: | Here’s video of Trump’s comments after today’s agreement signed between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain at the White House: |
| Michael Caputo, the US health department’s top spokesman who has been under fire for making false comments on Facebook, apologized in an emergency staff meeting today and signaled he might soon depart his role, according to a report in Politico. | Michael Caputo, the US health department’s top spokesman who has been under fire for making false comments on Facebook, apologized in an emergency staff meeting today and signaled he might soon depart his role, according to a report in Politico. |
| The Trump appointee, who has faced accusations of trying to muzzle an important scientific report amid the pandemic, apologized for his Facebook live video in which he said scientists battling the virus were conspiring against the president. In the widely criticized social media comments, he also warned of shooting in the US if Trump loses the election. | The Trump appointee, who has faced accusations of trying to muzzle an important scientific report amid the pandemic, apologized for his Facebook live video in which he said scientists battling the virus were conspiring against the president. In the widely criticized social media comments, he also warned of shooting in the US if Trump loses the election. |
| More from the AP: | More from the AP: |
| More here: | More here: |
| The US government has deported a key witness in an ongoing investigation into sexual assault and harassment at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention center, according to a new report in the Texas Tribune. | The US government has deported a key witness in an ongoing investigation into sexual assault and harassment at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention center, according to a new report in the Texas Tribune. |
| Late Monday, Ice deported a 35-year-old woman who was held at an El Paso immigrant detention center for a year and spoke up about a “pattern and practice” of abuse that included guards assaulting her and other detainees, the paper reported, citing the witness’s lawyers. | Late Monday, Ice deported a 35-year-old woman who was held at an El Paso immigrant detention center for a year and spoke up about a “pattern and practice” of abuse that included guards assaulting her and other detainees, the paper reported, citing the witness’s lawyers. |
| The Department of Homeland Security launched an investigation into her accusations after the Texas Tribune and ProPublica reported on them in August. She filed a complaint alleging several guards assaulted her, and at least two more women have since come forward, the journalists reported today. | The Department of Homeland Security launched an investigation into her accusations after the Texas Tribune and ProPublica reported on them in August. She filed a complaint alleging several guards assaulted her, and at least two more women have since come forward, the journalists reported today. |
| The news comes one day after a whistleblower complaint filed on behalf of a nurse in Georgia alleged that immigrants in Ice detention were subjected to horrific conditions and treatment, including “jarring medical neglect” and a high rate of hysterectomies: | The news comes one day after a whistleblower complaint filed on behalf of a nurse in Georgia alleged that immigrants in Ice detention were subjected to horrific conditions and treatment, including “jarring medical neglect” and a high rate of hysterectomies: |